


You Told Me Once You Really Loved Me

by Tealeafproject



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Tragedy, Battle, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt Sokka (Avatar), M/M, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Sad Ending, Violence, but then one of them dies, get punked zutara shippers, no i will not take that back, sokka and zuko are together, sokka now calls zuko zucchini
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29192013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tealeafproject/pseuds/Tealeafproject
Summary: “Zuko, I love you, but there is nothing anyone can do.”During a battle, Sokka is gravely injured. He and Zuko share a last few bittersweet moments.(I promise it's better I'm just shit at summaries.)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	You Told Me Once You Really Loved Me

**Author's Note:**

> Based on "You Are My Sunshine" by Johnny Cash  
> I do not own any of the characters or song lyrics in this work.

Zuko’s eyes burned with tears. All around him, the sounds of battle were screaming in his ears, but all he could focus on was the man laying in his arms.

This can’t be happening to him.

He looked around himself and what he saw hurt him to his core. He saw Katara fighting a firebender with everything she had. Suki was slashing at another with her fans, but he could see the gash on her head that was leaking blood like a bucket with a hole. Aang and Toph were nowhere to be seen. He hoped they were in better shape than the rest of them.

He looked down again at the face looking back. The pair of once crystal-blue eyes, now a dull gray, trying to hide the torturous truth. The taut forehead that hid the pain in his leg. Tight lines around his lips trying to keep in the screams that were close to bursting from them. He refused to look away from his face because he knew that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to look away from the wounds that would greet his own eyes.

He looked away to make sure nothing else had happened yet. Katara and Suki were still fighting, but the blood on Suki’s head was growing thicker.

“Zuko…”

Zuko snapped his head back down so fast he nearly got whiplash.

“Sokka, you shouldn’t be talking! I need to look at your wounds. I can do that…”

He lifted Sokka’s shirt-- or tried to. Most of it was seared into his skin. He took out a knife and cut away what he could. What he saw underneath nearly made him throw up.

The skin was blackened and burnt, with patches of damaged spots that were so bad he could see muscle and bone underneath. Sokka’s knee was contorted at an unnatural angle that he knew even Ty Lee couldn’t execute. A little farther down and he could see the bone sticking out. Open fractures were bad.

He took a deep breath. He had to keep calm if he wanted to help Sokka. 

“Zuko, I love you, but there is nothing anyone can do.”

His heart stopped beating and he felt all the blood drain from his face.

How could he say that!? There is always something that can be done! They were supposed to have our future together! They were supposed to be together after this crazy war and live as normal a life as they could! Get married! Have kids!

But deep in his mind, at the bottom where all the bad things lived, he knew that there was nothing that could be done. Katara was still fighting and she didn’t have any spirit water anyways. They had no available medics that could even hope to do anything that Katara couldn’t. 

“How can you say that?” Zuko cried desperately, “When I wanted to spend eternity with you? You took my soul and I can’t take it back. You stole my heart and I can’t have it complete. A piece will always belong to you, and I don’t think I can live any other way. You told me once that you really loved me. So, please, just stay.”

Sokka let out a quiet sigh of pain. He grit his teeth as he began to utter his next words.

“Zuko. I think we both know what will happen, but I want you to know-”

Zuko covered Sokka’s mouth with his hand. He knew what Sokka was talking about, but if he said it out loud, it would make it real. Final.

“Please, Sokka. Please stay with me,” he wept.

Zuko closed his eyes as the tears started to fall. This couldn’t be happening.

Agni, I plead with you to please let him stay. I can’t bear to live without this man. We were made to be each other together. Yue and La, grant me peace and equilibrium and let him live.

Zuko was pulled from his prayer by the sound of a voice.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine-,” Sokka began to sing but was interrupted by a coughing fit.

“Of course, you of all people would choose to sing a song instead of accepting medical help,” Zuko laughed wetly.

Sokka didn’t seem to hear him. His eyes were glazing over but he continued to sing.

“You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you…”

“Please don’t take my sunshine away,” Zuko finished, tears dripping down his chin and onto Sokka’s chest.

Sokka weakly laughed. “I thought you hated that song. Said it was always a stupid pun.”

“I’ll never hate anything that you sing to me, Sokka.”

Sokka dropped his head onto Zuko’s lap. “I- I think I see someone. I think it’s time for me to go. Don’t worry, Zucchini, I’ll be fine. I love you. Maybe I can see Yue and Mom again.”

Zuko stopped holding back his sobs. He pressed his forehead to Sokka’s. It was still warm.  
“But what about me!? How can I be fine without you in this world? How can my blood flow through my veins when part of my heart is incomplete? I can’t- I can’t. Please, Sokka.”

Zuko cradled the body of the love of his life against his own. He felt Sokka’s heart beating weakly by his own. He felt a hand on his face.

“Zuko, I- I love you.” He felt Sokka stroke his thumb over his scar. He turned his face and pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand. He remembered all the times that Sokka had done this. All the times they would never have this again.

There were two hearts beating together. They beat as one a final time. Sokka’s hand went limp and his final tears fell.

**Author's Note:**

> I was nervous about posting on my main account, so I hope you enjoyed! : )  
> Thank you to ARealFrog and secretiveAstrologer for being betas!


End file.
